Historic Sites of Manitoba: Osborne-River Building (450-460 River Avenue / 100 Osborne Street, Winnipeg)

This three-storey brick and stone building at the intersection of Osborne Street and River Avenue in Winnipeg was designed by local architect Charles Saunders Bridgman and built by contractor Arthur Chadwick Waller in 1909 for realtor Hartley McKinley Millman. It provided a mixture of retail and office space along with residential apartments.

In its original configuration, the structure was semi-enclosed around an open-air inner courtyard and consisted of two separate blocks: the 12-suite Osborne Apartments / Osborne River Apartments (450 River Avenue) and the 7-suite Osborne River Building (454 River Avenue). The building was briefly known as the Millman Block, although the name was short-lived and discontinued by 1910. A branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce occupied the corner commercial space from 1910 to 1935.

In the 1970s, the exterior courtyard was enclosed and became an interior space.

In September 2019, it became a municipally-designed historic building.

Osborne-River Building (1927) Source: CIBC Archives Osborne-River Building (April 2020) Source: Nathan Kramer Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87910, W97.14613 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Charles Saunders Bridgman (1876-1965)

Memorable Manitobans: Arthur Chadwick Waller (1870-1943)

Memorable Manitobans: Hartley McKinley Millman (1876-1932)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Millman House (287 Kingsway, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Manitoba Business: Canadian Bank of Commerce

Sources:

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 847/1909, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“The contract for the masonry work in the Millman Block [...],” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 May 1909, page 3.

“Fort Rouge [The Millman Block ...],” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 November 1909, page 3.

“The "Osborne-River" Apartments [...],” Manitoba Free Press, 23 March 1910, page 20.

Osborne-River Building, 100 Osborne Street by Murray Peterson, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings and Resources Committee, March 2019.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

Preparation of this page was supported, in part, by the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund of the City of Winnipeg.

We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 10 March 2023

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